Biographical Information
Susan L. Hura
Principal
SpeechUsability
susan.hura@speechusability.com
404-702-4723
|
Susan L. Hura, Ph.D., is the founder of SpeechUsability, a consultancy focusing on improving the user experience by incorporating user-centered design practices in speech technology projects. Susan started and managed the usability program at Intervoice as their Head of User Experience, and prior to that worked a member of the human factors team at a Lucent Technologies, providing experience in user interface design, usability testing, and speech acoustics. She held a faculty position at Purdue University in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences where she cofounded a multidisciplinary research team dedicated to studying novel approaches to computer speech recognition. Susan holds a doctorate in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a frequent invited presenter at speech technology and usability conferences, and serves on the Board of Directors of AVIOS (the Applied Voice Input Output Society).
|
|
Conference Sessions by Susan L. Hura
SpeechTEK 2007 - Monday, August 20
TRACK B: VUI FOR VUI DESIGNERS
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
SpeechTEK 2007 - Wednesday, August 22
TRACK B: THE V-FILES: HOT TOPICS IN VUI DESIGN
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
SpeechTEK 2007 - Thursday, August 23: SpeechTEK University
STKU-4
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
|
Articles By Susan L. Hura
|
Relying solely on industry standards sets the bar too low.
They used their phones for a reason, so don't redirect them elsewhere.
In an increasingly automated world, speech-enabled applications and services are often touted as a way for companies to provide a human touch in customer service without employing live agents. However, to be successful, automated speech applications must evolve quickly to meet the needs of consumers who expect highly effective, efficient solutions that are likable and quickly learned.
Setting metrics for measuring the success of speech applications goes beyond recognition rates
Events point to an end of the 'us-versus-them' mentality.
The state of the user experience in the speech community.
Far too companies experience disappointment and delays in realizing the value of speech because they fail to test properly. Dr. Susan L. Hura explains why the time and effort spent in proper testing is significantly less than the costs of going live with a problematic application.
In his book Only the Paranoid Survive, Intel’s Andy Grove uses the term “strategic inflection point” to describe “what liberal arts people call a paradigm shift” - (basically, a point in time where a business can go one of two ways.) While the choice at the time may appear to be between two very similar paths, choosing the right one leads to great success, while the wrong choice can be catastrophic. For example, the development of the Internet and E-commerce confronts many marketers with a strategic inflection point.
At the recent SpeechTEK conference, a group of VUI specialists spent a day defining a set of success criteria for speech-enabled user interfaces. We necessarily limited our focus to criteria for which we could define metrics for measuring each quality. However, this leaves out one vital factor for the success of a VUI: the role of expectation. I’m referring to the expectations that users have when they interact with a speech-enabled application, the expectations that…
Offer advice that you can back up with evidence.
Situational awareness boosts system and company credibility.
We should be grateful when customers call us to complain.
Consider the IVR avoiders as well as the supporters.
Instead, why not design something people are happy to use?
And when's the best time to get it done.
Designers continually struggle with how to get the responses they need.
Learn the business rules before starting to design.